Many of us believe that a person’s mind becomes less active as he grows older．But this is not true，according to Dr．Lissy F．Jarvik，professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at the University of California，Los Angeles，and a board member of the New Center for Aging at the Veterans Hospital．She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years.For example，one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of twins, who were first examined when they were already 60 years old．As Dr．Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s，their minds did not generally decline(下降)as was expected．
However，there was some decline in their psycho-motor(精神运动的)speed． This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to．But when speed was not a factor，they lost very little intellectual (智力的) ability over the years.In general，Dr．Jarvik’s studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability．This is true not only into the 30s and 40s，but into the 60s and 70s as well．
As for learning new things，and ability to remember，studies by Dr．Jarvik and others show that the old are equal to the young．It is true that older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was．However，much of what we call“loss of memory”is not that at a11．
In the cases where the older person’s mind really seems to decline，it is not necessarilv a sign of a decay due to becoming old or“senility”．Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional state．This depression usually can be got rid of by counseling(咨询)with a psychologist，or medicine which fights depression.
In American society，when an older person loses something，we tend to call him or her“senile”．But notice that when a younger person loses something，he does not blame it on senility or loss of memory．He finds some other excuse!
1.A long-term study of 136 pairs of twins showed that the only factor that declined over the years was .
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A．mental health |
B．intellectual ability |
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C．the amount of knowledge |
D．psycho-motor speed |
2.According to Dr．Jarvik’s studies，middle-aged and older persons should expect to .
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A．reason better |
B．learn fewer new things |
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C．remember less |
D．1ose little ability to remember |
3.The word“senility”most likely means .
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A．excellent health |
B．weakness in body and mind because of old age |
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C．occasional forgetfulness |
D．giving up one’s life |
4.Both younger and older persons should realize that .
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A．a sign of a decay due to old age or“senility’’is a common thing |
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B．older persons are wiser than younger ones because of different knowledge amount |
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C．senility or mental decay due to aging is much less common than most of us believe |
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D．a sign of a depressed emotional state is not a reason of decay |
More and more scientific experiments prove that physical exercise can reduce the dangers of some illnesses in middle-aged persons．Exercise strengthens the heart muscle，reduces blood pressure and help to prevent muscles from changing into fat．Physical exercise is just as important for children．
Exercise and food affect growing speed in young lab animals．Baby mice start running as soon as they are big enough to use an exercise wheel in their cage．If they get extra food and run a lot，they will grow as much as 1.5 times bigger than normal．
The same differences in growing speed might be found between active and inactive children．Physical exercise helps active children grow faster than inactive children．One experiment shows that the brains of the mice that had enough exercise weighed about 3％more than those of the mice that did not exercise The mice that exercised are much quicker to learn doing new exercise than the mice that did not exercise．
The results of the experiments suppose the theory that exercise can help babies learn to talk and walk sooner than expected．
The good effects of physical exercise are not limited to children and middle-aged people．Exercise continues to be an important part of our lives after we grow old．For example，people over 50 years old begin to lose calcium(钙) from their bones，which get weaker and can break easily．Physical exercise，however，helps to strengthen the bones and to prevent them from losing calcium．Of course，old people can take medicines to prevent themselves from suffering from losing calcium．But the medicines they take increase the chance of developing some kind of cancer(癌)．So physical exercise is a much safer treatment(治疗)．
1.From the passage we know that .
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A．mice need to eat more and exercise more |
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B．children need more exercise than other people |
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C．old people like to take medicine to treat their illnesses |
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D．middle-aged people are easy to get fat |
2.Active children than inactive children．
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A．enjoy walking more |
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B．are cleverer and healthier |
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C．are stronger but more foolish |
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D．are cleverer but weaker |
3.Why are the bones of old people easy to break according to the passage?
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A．Because they are easy to become ill． |
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B．Because they eat less than other people． |
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C．Because they have less exercise than other people． |
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D．there is less calcium in their bones than in those of other people． |
4.The passage tells people that .
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A．only middle-aged persons can benefit from physical exercise |
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B．physical exercise can do good to both the middle-aged and children |
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C．people of different ages can all benefit from physical exercise |
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D．physical exercise is the safest treatment for losing calcium |
In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing US minority．As their children began moving up through the nation’s schools，it became clear that a new kind of culture was coming out．Their achievements are made in the nation’s best universities，where mathematics，science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character.This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U.S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English.They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college．Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively(客观)．And the money spent on education is more immediately returned in something like engineering than with an arts degree．
Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children should take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer.An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do，and it helps．Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture，such as family value，the importance of education and so on that lead to their success.
Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they could cause the native Americans’unhappiness．Many can remember when Chinese,Japanese and Filipino immigrants(移民)were unequally treated because of social separation．Indeed，it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.
1.Few Asian-American students major in human sciences mainly because .
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A．they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgement in these areas |
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B．there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures |
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C．they know little about American cultures and Western cultures |
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D．their English is not good enough |
2.Asian-Americans prefer something like engineering to an arts degree because________.
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A．people majoring in engineering are respected |
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B．people with an arts degree are looked down upon |
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C．they can’t find a job with an arts degree |
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D．they can earn more money after graduation |
3.While making great achievements at college，Asian-American students________.
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A．are afraid that their academic successes take on a strong Asian character |
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B．still worry about unfair treatment in society |
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C．generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents |
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D．feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English |
4.According to the passage，the major factors determining the success of Asian-Americans are .
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A．Asian culture and the American educational system |
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B．Asian culture and a solid base in basic mathematics |
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C．hard work and parental help |
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D．hard work and a limited knowledge of English |
Not only did the students ask for changes in the list of required subjects，but they also demanded the right to choose their courses according to their own taste and future needs．No more fixed programs,no guidance from educators and professors．All they wanted was to get their degree as fast as possible and go to work．
Although the educators didn’t all agree；a majority recognized that time had indeed changed and that education should perhaps adapt itself to the realities of modern society．Colleges and universities revised their programs to include a large number of specialized courses in business，nursing，engineering，and other professional fields．In the 1960s they also added courses requested by the students because they considered them“relevant(相关的)”(Women Studies，Revolution，or Black History)or useful(glass blowing，infant care，slow running，or family life)．The students were granted the right to choose their courses as they wished．Many traditional subjects had to be dropped，including history and foreign languages；the liberal education courses that were still useful were often neglected(忽视)by the students，who didn’t feel like working hard to learn something that was not required for graduation．
Whether the revised programs have helped college graduates to find employment quickly is not clear．But after fifteen or twenty years of experimentation，they have raised a lot of criticism．Some of it comes from the graduates themselves,who discover that their practical knowledge is neither deep nor flexible(灵活的)．As soon as they progress to higher positions，they find that they need management training and more study in their own field．Besides，they feel disabled by their lack of general knowledge,for example，by their ignorance of the language and culture of the foreigners with whom they are doing business. Most of all they suffer from their inability to use English，their own language，easily and properly.
1.The students also demanded ，besides a change of program.
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A．the right to choose their university |
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B．the right to choose their professors |
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C．the right to choose their degree |
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D．the right to choose their courses |
2.What was the reaction of the colleges towards the students’demand?
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A．All the educators agreed with them. |
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B．None of the educators agreed with them. |
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C．A few educators agreed with them. |
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D．A few educators disagreed with them. |
3.Who is it that criticized the new system of education?
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A．Graduates |
B．Parents |
C．Employers |
D．Educators |
4.In the opinion of the critics，the main problems are .
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A．the general knowledge is too much |
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B．the practical knowledge is impractical |
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C．they learned too much useless knowledge |
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D．they are not able to use their knowledge effectively |
“How did you do it, Dad ? How have you 21 not to take a drink for almost 20 years? ”It took me almost 20 years to have the 22 to even ask my father this very 23 question.
When Dad first 24 drinking, the whole family was on pins and needles 25 he got into a situation that, in the past, would have started him drinking again.For a few years we were 26 to bring it up for fear that the drinking would begin again.
“I had this little 27 that I would recite to myself 28 four to five times a day ” was Dad’s 29 to my 18-year-old unasked question.“The 30 were an instant relief and constant reminder to me that things were never so 31 that I could not handle them,”Dad said.And then he 32 the poem with me.The poem’s simple, yet profound (深奥的) words 33 became part of my daily routine as well.
About a month after this talk with my father,I 34 a gift in the mail from a friend of mine. It was a book of affirmations (断言) with one affirmation listed for each 35 of the year.
I 36 opened the book to the page of my birthday to see what words of wisdom this book had in store for me. 37 of disbelief and appreciation rolled down my face.There,on my birthday ,was the 38 poem that had helped my 39 for all these years! It is called The Sereniry Prayer.
God,give me the Serenity（平静）to accept the things I cannot change,the Courage to 40 the things I can,and the Wisdom to know the difference.
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—What is that noise?
—Oh,I forgot to tell you that the new machine .
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A．was tested |
B．will be tested |
C．is being tested |
D．has been tested |
